Norbert Saada Movies

Le Crime D'Antoine stars Tom Novembre as a sensitive composer. Novembre's world comes crashing down upon him when his new bride (Catherine Wilkening) suddenly dies. Years pass: still mooning over his lost love, Novembre answers a personal advertisement. The woman who placed the ad is the living image of his late wife. The composer's ecstasy is tempered by his new companion's bizarre behavior. Hmmm....could first-time director Marc Riviere have seen Vertigo at sometime or other? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this so-so actioner, a cop possessing expert knowledge of computer software (a detail revealed late in the proceedings) also comes into possession of some incriminating tapes, putting him and an attractive woman on the hit list of a murderous band of thugs. It seems they could land some VIPs in prison or worse if the tapes are ever made public. The chases, confrontations, mayhem, and final computer coup are riddled with dialogue that is too tried and true to ring with any originality, though the final electronic "publication" of the damning evidence is great. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This technically impressive throwback to the early days of film noir stars Richard Berry as Bruno, a young actor who seems to get blamed for everything. Spotting a gorgeous female shoplifter (Victoria Abril) in trouble, Bruno decides to help her and gets arrested in her place. While lamenting his fate in prison, he is blamed for an escape attempt in which a psychotic guard (Richard Bohringer) is shot. When Bruno's sentence is lengthened, the guard makes his life a nightmare until the terrorized prisoner must lash out in the ultimate rebellion against (and surrender to) his inescapable fate. Director Denis Amar's moody film is strong on atmosphere but weak in characterization, despite an impressively sadistic turn by Bohringer, and the movie leaves the viewer flat rather than moved. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The Death of Mario Ricci is a Swiss/French/West German coproduction, filmed on location in Switzerland. Gian-Maria Volonte stars as a TV newscaster who journeys to a remote alpine village to interview a famed malnutrition expert. Upon his arrival, Volonte learns that there's an ongoing investigation in the village concerning the mysterious death of an Italian immigrant. Inexorably, the journalist becomes involved in the investigation, and with equal inexorability the chain of evidence leads to the malnutritionist. The Death of Mario Ricci is consistently lovely to look at, though dramatically it's as hollow-centered as a piece of Swiss chocolate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Despite a fast-paced story that slams the broadcast industry and lotto mentality, this sci-fi action thriller emphasizes action over anxiety, and so its hunt-and-kill premise is less exciting than it sounds. Based on a Robert Sheckley tale, the action is brought about by a television show invented by money-motivated executives with ratings on the brain. The idea is to choose someone from the vast sea of the unemployed and cast them as the "hunted," while five others are the "hunters." The prey receives a million dollars if he or she can outsmart the five hunters, and a hunter gets $100,000 for finding and killing their human target. François Jacquemard (Gerard Lanvin) is chosen to be the man who has to outsmart the five hitmen, and when he proves to be too good at it, the TV executives have to find a way to outsmart him. All the drama, from beginning to end, is played out under the watchful eyes of multiple TV cameras, on the ground and in the air, while blood-thirsty viewers stay glued to their sets like Romans watching the gladiators -- but unlike the Romans, they are regularly interrupted by those annoying commercial breaks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This French comedy stars Laurent Malet as Jacko, an aging delinquent who falls for businessman's fiancee Lise (Evelyne Bouix). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

A Jewish Mafia-like family is running a prostitution ring, selling "protection," and operating gambling casinos -- more or less with impunity, and at peace with their Arab counterparts -- until a young gangster (Bernard Giraudeau) decides to pit the two ethnic factions against each other. Jewish cultural and religious events are celebrated by the Jewish gangsters, who promote family traditions -- in contrast to the police inspector who has no family and is out to do them all in. Focusing on the Jewish mob boss, the story has him undergoing some personal rehabilitation in the end. Actually, comparing the merits of ethnically and religiously different mobs of gangsters might be a little like comparing the respective beauty of a pair of week-old corpses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jacco (Laurent Malet) and his buddy Freddie (Michel Montanary) are the shiftless louts who frequent a bar run by Madga (Annie Girardot). Magda is Jacco's mistress, and she looks out for him like a surrogate mother. When Jacco meets Magda's daughter Lise (Evelyne Bouix), he drops Magda and Freddie to concentrate on seducing the young woman. The weak-willed Lise is married off to a businessman by her domineering mother. When Freddie dies, Jacco finds himself all alone and crawls back to Magda -- and is supposedly wiser for his experience. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi